Should I make this upgrade?

[Mafiki]

Hey All, 

 

I have a build that I purchased from a friend a few years ago and I think it's time to upgrade. I'm currently running two ATI Radeon HD 5770s in crossfire with an AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core processor with 8 gigs of RAM.  

 

I'm looking at an offer on craigslist to purchase a used R9 280 for $100. Would this be a good purchase and how much would I be bottle-necked by the processor when playing something like say, GTAV? 

 

I'm not trying to play Crisis 3 at max settings or anything, and am perfectly fine if something is on medium or high settings as long as its running at 60 frames. 

 

Thanks guys ! 

[LegacyStijncat]

I would be upgrading your CPU first, unless your 100% Team Red.

[dizmo]

Your processor will hold you back. Not because it's bottlenecking the GPU, but because it's old and needs to be replaced.

[Mafiki]

I would be upgrading your CPU first, unless your 100% Team Red.

 

 

I would be willing to upgrade the processor as well. Any suggestions that would compliment the R9 280?

[Mafiki]

Your processor will hold you back. Not because it's bottlenecking the GPU, but because it's old and needs to be replaced.

 

So if I upgraded the processor would GPU still hold up ? I've always had trouble finding information on my crossfired GPUs. Also any suggestions for a processor ? 

[thatguyyouknow75]

what people dont understand about bottlenecking is that yes your cpu will limit the gpu, but you will still get immense performance gains, the gpu just wont be working to its fullest potential. 

[dizmo]

So if I upgraded the processor would GPU still hold up ? I've always had trouble finding information on my crossfired GPUs. Also any suggestions for a processor ? 

You're likely looking at a more thorough overhaul. New motherboard, CPU, graphics cards.

That set up has had a good run, but honestly even my dads computers have moved on from his CF 5770's to something more powerful.

[StainlessSR]

So if I upgraded the processor would GPU still hold up ? I've always had trouble finding information on my crossfired GPUs. Also any suggestions for a processor ? 

your 5770 basically is the same as the 6770 (in fact you can crossfire those two cards if the 6770 is the primary card)

 

That is about $80 off list. If you can wait I would wait. If you need the extra power now then I would get it.

[Mafiki]

your 5770 basically is the same as the 6770 (in fact you can crossfire those two cards if the 6770 is the primary card)

 

That is about $80 off list. If you can wait I would wait. If you need the extra power now then I would get it.

 

What is it I would be waiting for? My main goal right now is to upgrade something that will give my build a little more bite for about $150-$200. I just haven't been able to run things like I used to, and my new MSI GS70 stealth laptop is kinda kickin my desktop's ass. 

 

Also that R9 280 seemed like a real steal, but if the processor would boost performance more should I do that instead? 

[StainlessSR]

What is it I would be waiting for? My main goal right now is to upgrade something that will give my build a little more bite for about $150-$200. I just haven't been able to run things like I used to, and my new MSI GS70 stealth laptop is kinda kickin my desktop's ass. 

 

Also that R9 280 seemed like a real steal, but if the processor would boost performance more should I do that instead? 

Your laptop has an I7m(most likely 4 core but even the two core w/hyperthreading would be decent single core performance in comparison to your desktop cpu) and a 765m (gpu about equal to your desktop card from what I could find for benchmarks). But I am not sure you would be able to get a worthwhile upgrade to your cpu at that price range. Honestly I am not super conversant with AMD's cpu/socket upgradability, so I am not one to talk with about that.

 

As to what you should do?....

That card would be a big improvment over what you have now. Even crossfired 5770's so with your limited budget that would be a nice upgrade.

However, you would need to upgrade your cpu next to get the real portential out of that card.

I say to wait if at all possible due to the new cards/cpus coming out soon.

 

If you can snag it for $100 then I would say go for it as a good interm solution, but don't expect instant super gaming as the rest of your rig cannot move as fast as that card can. Also, start saving for a new cpu motherboard as your next upgrade.

[Mafiki]

Your laptop has an I7m(most likely 4 core but even the two core w/hyperthreading would be decent single core performance in comparison to your desktop cpu) and a 765m (gpu about equal to your desktop card from what I could find for benchmarks). But I am not sure you would be able to get a worthwhile upgrade to your cpu at that price range. Honestly I am not super conversant with AMD's cpu/socket upgradability, so I am not one to talk with about that.

 

As to what you should do?....

That card would be a big improvment over what you have now. Even crossfired 5770's so with your limited budget that would be a nice upgrade.

However, you would need to upgrade your cpu next to get the real portential out of that card.

I say to wait if at all possible due to the new cards/cpus coming out soon.

 

If you can snag it for $100 then I would say go for it as a good interm solution, but don't expect instant super gaming as the rest of your rig cannot move as fast as that card can. Also, start saving for a new cpu motherboard as your next upgrade.

 

My laptop actually has a GTX 860M.  I think what I may do is snag the card, and then put an additional ~$100 to an AMD FX-6350. Maybe install an ssd as well. 

 

But thank you very much you've been very helpful! 

[LegacyStijncat]

I would be willing to upgrade the processor as well. Any suggestions that would compliment the R9 280?

An Quad Core i5 would go great with it. A ####K version if you want to overclock.

Here's a quick guide to the most common Intel Mobo Chipsets!

• B85: it starts your computer. It has a bios. But nothing fancy, not even SLI/Crossfire, just nothing. Only do this when on extremely tight budget. Also, a BIOS update may be necessary to function with your CPU.
• H87: does all the basic things that B## does, but supports fancy things like SLI most of the time. Only supports correct GPU overclocking, just like the B85.
• Z97: Is like the Z87, but supports newer CPU's. Supports overclocking in all flavours: RAM, CPU, GPU, everything. The most recommended for DDR3 Builds.
• X99: This has everything. All the feauteres, support for the newest i7 extreme editions (the 8 core ones), supports everything most of the time. This is most common for X99/DDR4 builds, which makes this an extreme build.